Are You moving Enough? Dangers of Sedentarism

By now you know the importance of being active, of having a regular exercising routine. But are you really meeting the basic requirements of activity?

The government has established activity guidelines for the maintenance of a healthy body. It is recommended that adults partake in aerobic activity of moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous intensity for 75 minutes a week, as well as engage in strength training at least 2 days a week. Five 30 minute sessions a week of moderate cardio plus 2 days of muscle strengthening are recommended for greater benefits. At the same time, children and adolescents should be actively engaged for at least 60 minutes a day, aerobically for at least 3 days a week and the same for muscle strengthening activities.

Nevertheless, the statistics related to our nation’s state of affairs are not pretty. According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 20 percent of adults meet the aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines. Unfortunately, the picture gets even scarier in relation to our youngsters. Only about 8 percent of youth ages 12–19 and 42 percent of children ages 6-12 getting (49% of boys versus 35% of girls) are getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. The most active group is that of children ages 6-12, sad to say. Yet, not even the majority of them meets the recommended physical activity.

Sedentarism

The lack of activity in the US overall is pervasive and wide-reaching. It is unfortunate to realize that our society is truly sedentary. The data reports that too much time is spent sitting while performing little or no exercise.

This major inactivity problem is the reflection of our society. This virtual era in modern US is that the majority of occupations involve sitting and more people than ever spend their time being physically inactive. People spend most of their 24 hour day sitting, Most people spend eight hours at their inactive jobs, followed by more sitting in front of the TV, and then sleeping. Another scary fact is that 33 percent of adolescents spend 3 or more hours watching TV according to the CDC.

Dr. Mercola, a renowned osteopathic physician and New York Times best selling author, has recognized the danger of current trends. It seems that disease processes follow long hours of sitting, even if you exercise. Sitting for hours increases toxic buildup and interferes with muscular and cellular systems involved in blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, raising them all.Lack of physical activity does not allow the body to produce the necessary mechanical stimulation of the tissues to turn the cells into turn fat-free mass cells, instead of fat mass cells. Remember, being sedentary is correlated with sickness and an overweight body.

Activity is highly needed by the body. It not helps you feel great and lose body fat but keeps your internal system functioning properly. If you are not currently being active, do yourself and your loved ones a favor: Start moving at least the minimum required amount. Your body will thank you!!